Detroit Zoo welcomes 2 new African lions

Charles E. Ramirez The Detroit News Published 10:59 AM EDT May 15, 2019 Royal Oak — The Detroit Zoo has two new points of pride: African lions Asha and Amirah. Officials said the three-year-old sisters come from the Buffalo Zoo and join Simba, a 10-year-old male lion at the Detroit Zoo’s 9,600-square-foot African Grasslands exhibit. “Asha and Amirah are settling in well in their new home,” Scott Carter, chief life sciences officer for the Detroit Zoological Society, said in a statement. “They are being slowly introduced to Simba, who seems excited about the new additions to his pride. “This summer, Zoo visitors will be able to watch them hanging out together, and we are hopeful the pride will grow even larger with the addition of cubs in the next year or so.” Simba was once owned by the royal family of Qatar and found sanctuary at the Detroit Zoo in 2013. The habitat is also home to female Erin, estimated to be about 18 years old, a lioness rescued from a junkyard in Kansas in 2009. [email protected]